Showmax kicked off the new Premier League season with an innovative marketing stunt that hijacked the live broadcast of popular Matchday Live build-up show – and fans loved it!
Premier League fans around Africa tuned in to watch hosts Julia Stuart and Owen Hargreaves interview notorious former Red Devils’ captain Eric Cantona to kick off the start of the new season – only to be surprised when the Frenchman stormed off the set, declaring, “The revolution will not be televised; the revolution will be live!”
See the full clip below
Skip to 5:30, where it’s revealed that Cantona had colluded with streaming platform Showmax to talk about its innovative Premier League mobile subscription.
The stunt drove the biggest results the brand has ever seen, with #EricCantona trending across the globe, at number seven.
“The stunt drove more than $4 million in earned value and has been mentioned more than 56, 000 times on social media. The stunt has been covered on major football sites across the world including SPORTbible, Daily Mail, and more,” says Chief Marketing Officer, Yatish Narsi.
Fans took to X to express feelings of shock, surprise and then delight when it was revealed to be a stunt.
What people are saying on X:
https://x.com/robertmarawa/status/1824506565077983648
https://x.com/Shaded_Blac/status/1824509529976913992
https://x.com/WyclefPresley/status/1824754487593943341
https://x.com/ayanda_yandiey_/status/1824517953041133796
https://x.com/Paballo_maseko_/status/1824514648655134747
https://x.com/Mr_MbulaziSA/status/1824516319812723191
https://x.com/MaxMaw1/status/1824520154459369477
https://x.com/ShowmaxSport/status/1824712281915031862
Narsi says, “The reason for the stunt is Showmax’s value proposition. To echo Cantona’s sentiments, the revolution is here! The revolution is about having the Premier League on your phone and at an affordable price.”
Narsi continues, “For R69 [less than $4] per month (R34 [less than $2] per month if you’re a Capitec Bank customer), hundreds of millions of people will finally be able to consume the greatest football league on the planet, for a fraction of what it costs to attend a live match in England while cheering on super-star African players, in real time.”
He concludes, “It’s the Premier League in your pocket. Welcome to the revolution!”
Credits: Multichoice, Showmax, T+W, Retroviral, grid, 22Ours, Encircle